Ethics and Professionalism

While working as a management accountant at the racing post, there were several instances where some field staffs claimed for compensations without supporting documents, some of those who presented these receipts, presented fake documents that could not be verified. My role as a manager was to ensure that such practices are discouraged and detected as early as possible so that the company cannot incur further losses due to such malpractices. Therefore, as an accountant, I had to counter-check the receipts for validity. Among the features used to validate financial documents included ETR elements, stamped documents, and a receipt that has the details of the service provider or trader-such information included, the name of the trader, address, phone number and the number of goods sold/ services offered.

Lesson learned

Some employees intended to benefit themselves at the expense of the company, and they thought that they ould take advantage of the existing loose structures to benefit themselves. From the company’s policy, such actions led to automatic dismissal. Secondly, such actions are likely to lead to huge losses in the long run and the eventual collapse of a company. Therefore, it is the mandate of an accountant to ensure that the company’s fiscal policies are strictly followed and that such practices can lead to huge loses.

Secondly, it was clear that some employees are likely to take advantage of the loopholes in the organization to ensure that they benefit themselves, instead of identifying these gaps and informing the management of the same. Therefore, as an accountant, one should always be watchful and update the company’s financial reporting tools to curb cases of fraud, or situations that might encourage the same.

Stakeholder Relationship Management

In my position as an accountant, I have so far handled both internal and external stakeholders, which in this case are the management, suppliers, and auditor as a Management Accountants at Racing Post. At Racing, the suppliers always demanded prompt as per the credit terms and agreement. On the other side, the management was always keen on the company’s financial status before paying the supplier. Therefore, as a management accountant, it was my duty to balance both the interests of the management and the suppliers. As the accountant, I always had to use my financial skills and the available information to project the companies position, in case the suppliers are paid, and in cases where they are not paid in time. Both decisions had its consequences; however, whatever the consequence, I had to ensure that the company was sustainable and stable. In most cases, through future projection, I was able to satisfy the interest of both the company and the suppliers.

Lesson Learnt

From this experience, I learned that as an accountant, one has to be keen and deploy the skills of critical thinking to ensure that the interests of all stakeholders within the organization are achieved. Also, it was clear from experience that as much as stakeholders work together in an organization, their needs are always competing. Therefore, an accountant should always focus on how to balance these needs and interests for the sake of the company and the sustainability of the whole process. A miscalculation or misdeed can lead to dire consequences, that can be fatal to the organization and lead to dismissal in extream cases. Lastly, accountants should acknowledge the importance of every stakeholder in an organization, the roles they play and the threat they pose to an organization, in cases where their interests are not carted hof

Strategy and Innovation

Working as a Management Accountant at the Racing Post, I helped with the migration from one system to another by monitoring all project deliverables, which comprise of timing, scope, and budget to mitigate any risks.

Before the migration process, the existing accounting system was slow and lacked some accounting features. For example, it could not automate the generation of supplier statements, and also had a lot of issues in integrating with other software in the company. Therefore, as an end-user, I noticed the problems and suggested to the organisation to change to improve the existing system. As an accountant, I took the initiative of researching the available systems on the market in comparison with the company's needs. From the research, we were able to come up with two systems that were all viable. After the organisation settled on the right choice, I helped with the migration from the old system to the new system. I worked closely with the system developers to ensure all functionalities are working and are in place.

Lessons Learnt

The first lesson that I learned is that as an account, my duty was not only limited to the accounts departments. Rather my input in other areas that were fundamental in enhancing the organisational outcomes was also important. Secondly, I learned whenever there is a problem in an organisation; one should be ready to speak it out since one never knows how crucial it might be. Besides, managers are always ready to listen to their employees as long as the employee presents a logical problem, which appeals to both the managers and the organisation at large.

Governance Risk and Control

While working at Quantcast as a GL accountant, I worked closely with the accounting manager to develop internal control and evaluated the finance departments to SOX regulations. The company, and specifically the finance department established a policy to control cash management, after there were some cash irregularities in the cash book, while some cash payments could not be accounted for due to the fact that they lacked the relevant supporting documents. The policy on cash management stipulated that the company should not authorise the use of cash to make huge payments and instead insisted on making payments through checks. My role in this change was to sensitise and brief the finance team on the new policy, the risks involved in using cash to make huge payments, and the benefits associated with the new policy. I was able to hold various meetings and debriefs with the cashier, and the accounts payables accountant to enlighten them on the new policy, and guided them on the flow of events after the implementation of the new policy. After some time, I reviewed to asses whether the newly formed guideline worked or not. The result demonstrated that this process was helpful to the organisation in teams of improving accounting practices.

Lesson Learnt

From the gaps discovered in the organisation and the subsequent solution, I learned that with the right tools and implementation, any problem could be solved in an organisation. It was also evident that risk control issues should be treated with urgency and seriousness because it can hugely affect the financial performance of a company. In the absence of such control measures, a company risks losing its capital through money laundering. I also learned that if a company introduces a policy, employees ought to take it as an individual’s mandate to comply with the new policies and also enlighten others on the same.

Leadership and management

While working as a management accountant at Racing Posts, I was able to conduct treasure duties that included completing the complex analysis and reporting to the stakeholders of the company. In the same post, I was also able to enhance communication channels, which involved supporting non-financial employees and translating all financial data for them.

While in this post, I realised that most interns and new employees in the finance department were not fully understanding the organisational processes. Their lack of knowledge on organisational procedures was creating problems with their respective direct supervisors, and the affected employees were demotivated because of this. Hence, I took the initiative of creating various training sessions that were tailored to the individual needs of the respective employees and interns, who were not familiar with the organisational procedures. Besides, the training aimed at enhancing the skills of new employees and interns to enhance their efficacy, reduce time wastage and proper management of company resources. At the end of the year, the employee in my training program emerged as the best performing staff in the organisation after appraisals.

From this experience, I learned that there are no weak or underserving employees; with the right coaching and supervision, everyone can equally contribute towards achieving the organisational goals. Secondly, I learned that it is always advisable to empower other individuals who do not possess the same skills as you. Thirdly, I learned that it is the responsibility of the senior managers to ensure that they come up with the relevant interventions that can make employees achieve their full potential and not to judge them on their current weaknesses. Lastly, with the right management, the right attitude, and proper motivation of employees, a company can be able to attain its goals, since employees would be working at their full potential.

Technical- Corporate and Business Reporting

Record and Process Transactions and Events

While at the Racing Post, I had to prepare the monthly management accounts consisting of the balance sheet, profit and loss statement, variance analysis and the preparations of accruals and pre-payments. Also, in the same position, my work scope included preparing and publishing a weekly profit and loss statement. Addidtionaly, I participated in the preparation of budgets and statutory accounts.

At the Racing Post, the company had various discrepancies in the actual invoice amounts and the amounts recorded in the books of accounts. As a management accountant, I went through the physical invoices and reconciled with records in the system, correcting the various errors and making the necessary adjustments. I further ensured that the same figures reflected in the final statements of the company, and also ensured the same amount were also documented in the supplier statements. I also ensured that from that time there was accuracy when inputting invoices and other transactions into the accounting system, and was keen to reconcile any discrepancies in time before submitting to the senior accountant for analysis and publishing.

I learned that in accounting, reconciliations are vital and ought to be done periodically to avoid errors. Moreover, accuracy and keenness are also needed in recording and processing financial transactions. It also important to verify and cross-check accounting information before feeding it into the system, and this can be done by re-calculating the figures to make sure that they are correct. I also learned that proper accounting policies and standards should be adhered to when recording transactions and events.

At Racing Posts, I was a management accountant and enhanced efficiency through the creation and implementation of templates, which included accruals and pre-payment schedules and improved account preparation account processes. I realised that the company’s management accounting department was ineffective in some areas and lacked proper systems for it to attain its full potential. The management accounting department used old techniques in the preparation of budgets and the cost of various products. To solve the problem, I helped build hence manage improved internal and external reporting procedures.

I learned that in the current business environment where technology changes and improves various systems regularly, for management accounting systems in an organisation to remain effective, the systems need to be reviewed and evaluated regularly based on the needs of the company and the available technology in the market. More so, the performance of a company as a whole is hugely affected by the management accounting system in place. These hugely felt in terms of commodity pricing and budgeting. Therefore, at no point should a company ignore the management accounting system as the entire company feels its impact. As a management account, one should always research the available management systems in the market, and review the impact each system can influence in an organization.

The case also helped me to have an in-depth knowledge of a good management system that meets the needs of the company. Besides, as an accountant, there is a need to check and compare the management accounts with the budgets and the Key Performance indicators regularly.

Taxation- Tax Computations and Assessments

In Racing Post as Management Accountant, my roles included filing VAT and P11D returns. In my initial years at Racing Post, there were delays in filing returns, because the incumbent accountant was not familiar with tax computations, especially when it came to computing the P11D returns - Besides, some new regulations and systems were introduced by the government on the online filing of returns. The company’s systems proved to be challenging extracting data from financial records to be used in tax computations.

To solve these problems, I ensured compliance with all reporting requirements and the existing tax laws. I also ensured timely submission of tax returns, which included PAYE (Pay as You Earn) deducted from the employees’ salary and VAT returns on purchases and sales. Besides, I educated and trained the accountant on the new regulations and the new online system and how to use it. I also ensured that the team knew how to compute and asses all the tax liabilities of the company.

Learned that the fact that tax filing as a legal and statutory requirement is a vital facet in every company. Proper tax computation is key since this can lead to hefty fines from legislators and the government, especially if the company does not fully adhere to the governmental policies. I also learned that it is important to educate anyone in the finance department on the importance of accurate tax computations and timely filing of tax returns to avoid unnecessary fines.

Audit and Assurance- Prepare For And Plan The Audit And Assurance Process

At Racing Posts, I liaised extensively with auditors to ensure accurate preparation of audit schedules. I was in communication with the auditors to assist in the planning and timing of the audit and the audit engagement process.

I helped assessed the internal control system of the company. I ensured that there are proper structures in place in the internal control department, evaluated the risks, and made changes in the internal control department, which are necessary for an audit process. During the end of year audit planning, I played a major role in ensuring that all the necessary documents, records, and transactions are accurate and updated to be used by auditors. I liaised with the auditors and familiarised myself with the scope of the audit and also played a vital role in documenting the audit plan and designed programs while liaising with the auditors. I also helped prepare the engagement letter and ensured that the letter was delivered to the auditors. During the audit process, I ensured that the auditors got all the documents they required to conduct the audit comprehensively, and also requested full cooperation from my team members and highlighted the legal implication of failing to cooperate with this group.

I learned that the audit and assurance process as a legal requirement for any company should be treated with utmost seriousness and requires cooperation from the most senior to the junior employees within an organisation. I also, realised that the planning of the audit process is important since it saves time recourses and also ensures that the audit is conducted in an organised manner. It is also good to have an internal control structure in place, as this will make the audit process easier and reduces the risks of auditors giving a qualified opinion of the company.

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